Trevecca graduate student selected to participate in competitive fellowship program
| Alumni
When Trevecca graduate student Erin Tillson first heard about the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy Minority Fellowship Program (AAMFT MFP), she was interested, but unsure.
“People told me it was a great opportunity,” said Tillson, who will graduate with her master’s degree in marriage and family counseling/therapy in May 2018.
The AAMFT fellowship program is incredibly competitive, and it’s considered an honor to be accepted. Tillson is the first Trevecca graduate student to be accepted to the fellowship, which she’ll complete over the course of the 2017-2018 academic year.
Over the course of the year, Tillson will participate in training sessions designed to increase awareness of the needs of specific intercultural populations as well as groups that are underserved when it comes to counseling services.
“The fellowship is focused on extra training to increase my awareness of intercultural competencies and how to provide better counseling services for adolescent clients with different backgrounds who have been underserved or overlooked by the profession,” Tillson explained. “I thought that it would be a neat opportunity to increase my skills as a clinician and be able to better serve clients.”
Tillson will complete the added training opportunities, which include webinars, workshops and conferences focused on the needs of specific underserved or minority youth, in addition to her regular coursework. The fellowship program also provides a financial stipend.
Growing up in both the Middle East and the United States, Tillson is particularly interested in adolescent development of fellow “third culture kids,” people who have lived abroad during their formative years and developed a culture of their own that combines their parents’ culture with that of the countries in which they’ve lived.
“Third culture kids are sometimes referred to as ‘hidden immigrants’ because they look the same, they sound the same, so unless you specifically ask, ‘Have you lived in another country?’ you might not know they have that additional complex piece of their identity,” Tillson said.
In light of growing globalization of the United States, Tillson believes counselors and therapists will need to continue to grow in order to meet the needs of a more globally mobile population in addition to underserved groups.
“I think as our country as a whole becomes more diverse in a lot of different ways, it’s important for the strength of our communities and our country that we’re able to address the mental health needs of all,” Tillson said. “If we ignore marginalized groups, we’re just contributing to a health problem that affects all of us. And we’re also missing out on the strengths and resources of underserved groups.”
About the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT)
AAMFT is the professional association for the field of marriage and family therapy. The organization represents the professional interests of more than 50,000 marriage and family therapists throughout the United States, Canada and abroad.
Media contact: Mandy Crow, 615-248-1695